Page 77 of Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope
John straightened and began walking again as he said, “I’m just a practically senile old man, but seems to me that whether you’re involved or not, you worry about him anyway.”
John might be in his eighties, but he wasn’t in the slightest bit senile.
Lost in her thoughts, Morgan stayed beside him as they made their way to the dining area.
“Tell me, Morgan,” he said, slowly walking down the hallway, “because I’m curious. If you and Andrew were a couple, would you have been any more worried about him last night?”
“I...” She considered what he was asking, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think it’s possible to have been more worried than I already was.”
John gave her a smug look. “Because love doesn’t work that way, does it?”
A noise sounded deep in Morgan’s throat and she shook her head forcefully. “Love has nothing to do with this.”
John had the audacity to laugh. “Love has everything to do with this. It doesn’t make any difference if that young man is halfway around the world or standing right beside you, you’re going to worry about him. It’s on you to figure out how to deal with that.”
“I...when I said I don’t know how to stop worrying, I was telling the truth,” she admitted. “I used to not worry, but then when Trey started pulling riskier and riskier stunts, anxiety set in and now I can’t seem to stop worrying.”
“What are you so worried about?”
“Everything,” she admitted.
“Too vague.” His blue gaze put her on the spot. “What are you so worried about, Morgan?”
Heart pounding, she said, “Losing Andrew.”
“No reason to worry about losing him when it seems you’ve already pushed him away,” he said so matter-of-factly Morgan could only stare at him. “So, what else are you worried about?”
But Morgan had stopped walking, eyeing him as they stood just outside the dining area. “I never had Andrew to lose him. I told him I wanted a relationship, John, and he pushed me away. He said that wasn’t what he wanted.”
John’s bushy white brow rose. “You sure about that?”
“It’s snowing!” Greyson said, running to the window for a better look, smushing his nose against the windowpane that overlooked Grammy’s front lawn.
Morgan followed him to the window and placed her hand on his shoulder. It was Christmas Eve, and she was blessed to have the next two days off work. Greyson had crawled into bed with her that morning with a stack of Christmas books and they’d lain there reading, talking about Rosie’s wedding, and about Santa coming that night.
“Wow,” she said, staring at the heavy layer of white covering everything. “It must have snowed all night.”
“Almost four inches and it’s still coming down,” Grammy Claudia said. “Looks as if we’re going to have a white Christmas.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a white Christmas,” Morgan said.
“I’ve never had a white Christmas,” Greyson added, then glanced up at Morgan. “Have I?”
“No, honey. We never had snow where we lived in Georgia.”
“Then, I’m extra glad you’re getting a white Christmas this year and that Rosie has snow for her wedding later today,” Grammy said. “Goodness knows she probably threatened to cancel the wedding again if she didn’t have real snow. God must have decided it was time to intervene since half the town has already bought ugly Christmas sweaters for this thing.” She shook her just-coiffed-that-morning head.
Thinking how lovely her grandmother looked, Morgan smiled. “Hopefully, today will be everything she’s ever dreamed of.”
“Ha.” Grammy snorted. “It already is literally everything she’s ever dreamed of. She’s come up with every outlandish idea imaginable—I don’t think even her dreams could come up with something new. It’s going to be a winter wonderland zoo. This morning, while we were getting our hair and make-up done, she informed us that she added a live nativity.”
“That’s very Christmas-y.”
“Yes, I suppose so. I don’t even know where that woman gets these ideas,” Grammy continued, shaking her head. “But she sure keeps our lives exciting.”
“Well, I guess there’s been stranger things to happen at a wedding than a live nativity.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll manage to top those stranger things, too, before the day is over. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she finagled a polar bear to walk her down the aisle or if she’s planned some great runaway bride getaway.”
